Definitely read the book first, but the movie is wonderful too. One of my favourite of all time,not just because of the story/acting etc, but there were so many movie things that were firsts, for example the scene of all the wounded men lying on the ground, makes me cry every time. I've never read the sequel and I never will.

Definitely read the book first, but the movie is wonderful too. One of my favourite of all time,not just because of the story/acting etc, but there were so many movie things that were firsts, for example the scene of all the wounded men lying on the ground, makes me cry every time. I've never read the sequel and I never will.

You can look at the movie and stop. While the book has some very good parts in it (especially the chapters during the war) most of it is boring and except Rhett Butler all the other characters are shallow and uninteresting.

You can look at the movie and stop. While the book has some very good parts in it (especially the chapters during the war) most of it is boring and except Rhett Butler all the other characters are shallow and uninteresting.

Ah, clearly designed to get a rise out of those of us who love the book. I can understand certain criticisms, even if I don't agree with them, but "boring"? With "shallow and uninteresting" characters? No, no way.

You can look at the movie and stop. While the book has some very good parts in it (especially the chapters during the war) most of it is boring and except Rhett Butler all the other characters are shallow and uninteresting.

I am not really going to bite here. All I will say to this is that even the 2nd tier characters such as Mr. O'Hara and Mrs. O'Hara are a lot more fleshed out in the book.

Last edited by jersysman; 11-20-2012 at 02:10 PM.
Reason: Corrected spelling of O'Hara

I'm sorry but there's nothing to "bite" here. I'm not trolling or trying to "get a rise out of those of us who love the book." I recommended the movie because the acting and costumes might interest someone more than this overrated book.

Yes the book is boring, unless you like to read endless pages of useless talk at parties and how Scarlett can't decide what dress to wear. Nothing important ever happens before the war starts but like I said in my previous post after that the action does get better.

As far as characters go, again they are boring and shallow. They all see the world through their narrow view that only goes as far a little outside Tara. I actually enjoyed to see the war coming and hitting them hard in the face. Melanie is so lovable and naive that at some point I wanted to throw my book to the guy sitting at a nearby table in the pub. Ashley is just another spoiled brat who turned out miserable even though he always got what he needed (even during the war when everyone was struggling to survive). The only character that is worth mentioning in the book is like I said, Rhett.

You want to read a book where characters in high society are actually interesting? Try Anna Karenina.

They are meant to appear provincial, shallow, narrow minded and with a narrow view, naive, un-knowledgeable and even stupid.
It is what MM wanted to portray. She (via Scarlett) proves that Scarlett's world was doomed to end.
Most of them were spoiled brats and the fact that you got angry at some of the characters is good. You were meant to.
This is not a "feel good" book. It's the end of the world for a sub-culture and it's told from the perspective of the losers, it must have a bitter feel to it. Ultimately you were made to feel that they deserved what happened, which again, is the point.

(Though why did you want to throw the book at the poor guy in the cafe, did he look like Melanie? )

I'm sorry if I went to far talking about what you got from the book, I do not want to sound patronising. Only you can know your mind but I only used what you wrote.

I am not a literature graduate or a knowledgeable person when it comes to book critiques.
The genres I read are thrillers and SF&F not romance or literary fiction and yet, in my opinion, this book is more than just a good book.

I'm sorry but there's nothing to "bite" here. I'm not trolling or trying to "get a rise out of those of us who love the book." I recommended the movie because the acting and costumes might interest someone more than this overrated book.

Yes the book is boring, unless you like to read endless pages of useless talk at parties and how Scarlett can't decide what dress to wear. Nothing important ever happens before the war starts but like I said in my previous post after that the action does get better.

The book is slow-moving initially, setting up our understanding of the world the characters inhabit before it gets blown to bits by the war. But so is the movie--the pace is leisurely for the run-up to the barbecue and the barbecue itself. Contrast that with the movie's last half-hour or so, which is a whirlwind of events--condensing the book considerably.

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As far as characters go, again they are boring and shallow. They all see the world through their narrow view that only goes as far a little outside Tara. I actually enjoyed to see the war coming and hitting them hard in the face.

That's the point, that they see the world in such a limited way. Scarlett is only 16--she has the excuse of youth, at least, and when she needs to change to meet changing circumstances, she has no role model, she's completely on her own with incredible burdens.

There is not one character in GWTW that I was not interested in--Belle Watling, Will Benteen, Archie, Big Sam, Cathleen Calvert, India Wilkes, Grandma Fontaine--no matter how major or minor the character, I would happily have read more details. They all seemed multidimensional and very, very real.

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Melanie is so lovable and naive that at some point I wanted to throw my book to the guy sitting at a nearby table in the pub. Ashley is just another spoiled brat who turned out miserable even though he always got what he needed (even during the war when everyone was struggling to survive). The only character that is worth mentioning in the book is like I said, Rhett.

We see Melanie through Scarlett's eyes, and the view is not static. While Olivia de Havilland is lovely in the movie, Melanie is so much more complex in the book.

I would never, ever call Ashley a "spoiled brat"; he was weak, but not spoiled. He wasn't sitting around feeling entitled; rather, he tried, but he had the self-knowledge to realize he did not know how to adjust to the new world.

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You want to read a book where characters in high society are actually interesting? Try Anna Karenina.

I tried--in fact, come to think of it, I believe Anna Karenina was required summer reading in high school the summer after I first read GWTW. It's the only assigned book I was never able to get through. Even though I've made various attempts over the years, I still can't get into it.

That's one of the problems: the pace is really slow until the war starts but that happens only after you read almost half the book.

I understand that the characters are meant to be shallow and narrow-minded but this seems out of place since they are intellectuals and should have by default a better view and understanding of things.

Don't worry Mr Cat almost nobody likes books given for summer reading. I suspect that it happens to everyone.